Restorative Practice as the new behaviour management tool.
Restorative practice is a term largely utilised within
education today in Australia however, many graduate teachers struggle with the
concept, many confused and understanding about this broad term can be an obscure
concept for many educators; new or experienced. When restorative practice, as
the modern concept to behaviour management, is introduced many actually only
understand one concept of this, which is actually referred to as restorative
justice (Zehr, 2004). The term restorative practice is defined as a strategy
that seeks to repair relationships that have been damaged through remorse and a
restorative approach (DEECD, 2014). On the other hand restorative justice is a
recalibration of focus to include the victim, as the crime belongs to the
victim, just as much as it does to the offender (Daniels, 2013). These terms, restorative
justice and restorative practices, are two separate elements however, the both
aim to repair relationships over the need to: assign blame, dispense punishment
and connate more negativity (Daniels, 2013).
The idea of restorative practice is a relatively new comer in the past decade. It all begun to become increasingly popular when crime was increasing dramatically and reoffending rates were horrific, and the justice system found that nothing was working (Hopkins, 2004). In began here in the world of probation, as a tool to decrease crime. This was the early 1980’s, where society witnessed the justice system focussing on a move towards the acceptance of what has been described as a “personalisation” of justice in ways that may never have been envisaged (Zehr, 2004). Here they improved the focus of fostering and repairing relationships in a positive manner which entailed, bringing together those responsible for crimes and those affected by them, to offer an opportunity to repair and restore, rather than punish (Daniels, 2013). This has all stemmed from the ideas around how punishment will or if it can survive in the modern world today.
The question here lies within how this idea came into schools as a behaviour management tool? After the justice system found astonishing positive results they found society were not so willing to take this practice into their everyday lives and workplaces due to many not willing to think, act and do things differently as this meant working outside an already established practice many were comfortable with. Although this was the case, several educators were willing to take these risks and have found amazing results therefore, seeing the shift and focus on restorative practice we see today (Daniels, 2013).
Educators take this approach on to foster positive relationships with the youth of today, enabling them to become global positive citizens that then leads to betterment within our communities. As educators it is an avenue in which we can open our student’s eyes to the realities that conflict is normal within any community and it is how you go about resolving conflict, is where you learn, benefit and grow from (Zehr, 2004).. Of paramount importance are the skills and insights students learn through the participation in the resolution phase, in which brings upon emotional, intellectual and social growth. Another broader positive of restorative practice, is the benefit to community building. There are many challenges educators face within this process (Hopkins, 2004). Many of these challenges are to do with confidence which will come in turn with practice and reflection, venturing outside the comfort zone, challenging, not necessarily a normal way to approach things deemed by society and the fact that there is never a right or wrong answer or action with this approach; it is far from black or white.
Although there is so much to learn around this practice there are two main concepts you should always come back to as a teacher:
The idea of restorative practice is a relatively new comer in the past decade. It all begun to become increasingly popular when crime was increasing dramatically and reoffending rates were horrific, and the justice system found that nothing was working (Hopkins, 2004). In began here in the world of probation, as a tool to decrease crime. This was the early 1980’s, where society witnessed the justice system focussing on a move towards the acceptance of what has been described as a “personalisation” of justice in ways that may never have been envisaged (Zehr, 2004). Here they improved the focus of fostering and repairing relationships in a positive manner which entailed, bringing together those responsible for crimes and those affected by them, to offer an opportunity to repair and restore, rather than punish (Daniels, 2013). This has all stemmed from the ideas around how punishment will or if it can survive in the modern world today.
The question here lies within how this idea came into schools as a behaviour management tool? After the justice system found astonishing positive results they found society were not so willing to take this practice into their everyday lives and workplaces due to many not willing to think, act and do things differently as this meant working outside an already established practice many were comfortable with. Although this was the case, several educators were willing to take these risks and have found amazing results therefore, seeing the shift and focus on restorative practice we see today (Daniels, 2013).
Educators take this approach on to foster positive relationships with the youth of today, enabling them to become global positive citizens that then leads to betterment within our communities. As educators it is an avenue in which we can open our student’s eyes to the realities that conflict is normal within any community and it is how you go about resolving conflict, is where you learn, benefit and grow from (Zehr, 2004).. Of paramount importance are the skills and insights students learn through the participation in the resolution phase, in which brings upon emotional, intellectual and social growth. Another broader positive of restorative practice, is the benefit to community building. There are many challenges educators face within this process (Hopkins, 2004). Many of these challenges are to do with confidence which will come in turn with practice and reflection, venturing outside the comfort zone, challenging, not necessarily a normal way to approach things deemed by society and the fact that there is never a right or wrong answer or action with this approach; it is far from black or white.
Although there is so much to learn around this practice there are two main concepts you should always come back to as a teacher:
- How are you responding to actions that are
harmful or hurtful for individuals within our classroom?
- How can we create a school climate where there
is a good sense of social connectedness combined with respect for all
individuals?
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TED TALKS:
Repairing our schools through restorative justice. I have linked a professional development video for teachers from the ted talks channel. This gives you a short run through and breakdown of how restorative justice can be positive for our schools. Ted Talks is a great source of professional and personal development for anyone! |